Friday, November 22, 2013

And the time of year I'm talking about is the Christmas Craft Show at the Western Fair Grounds.

We've participated in this show for the last few years (3 I think) and we seem to do better with each passing year. The reason for this is people who have already purchased our soap from the previous year(s) find that it really is GREAT soap! Not to honk my own horn, but I've spent years perfecting our soap to become the creamy, lathery, silky bars that they are today. And the only thing that our soap strips away is the dirt. It's actually good for your skin. At this show, we usually have over 50 different varieties to choose from and I will tell you that it is a RARE occasion when we don't have a specific kind of soap that someone is looking for.

It's just the best thing in the world when we have people coming to our booth looking for the kind of soap they got last year because they just loved it (and they want to stock up). One thing you will notice is that we are going to look a little bit different this year. Our colour scheme has changed. We used to be blue and brown. Not anymore. Look for Lime Green and Black. That's us. You'll also notice that all of our labels have changed. As has our logo. We have gone through LOTS of changes this year, and there will be lots more to come. But our soap will remain the same. No matter how busy we get, we will always keep focus and maintain the quality of the handcrafted soap that you've come to expect from us.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

This is one recipe that I just had to share because it's simple, easy and very inexpensive to make. Yes, my family and I have been testing this one to be absolutely sure that it worked. I sent the husband out for his long day of work outside in the warm weather. He was a bit concerned but willing to participate in product testing. He came home, I did the 'sniff' test. (Yes, I did). Based on this test alone, with no reapplication throughout the day, I can tell you. IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really encourage you to try this. Either with the ingredients you have at home, or you can get them easily and inexpensively with us.

If you have an extra 3-4 minutes in your day, that's all you need. (if you were in a hurry, you could probably make it in less time than this, so no excuses!)

~ If you want a thicker consistency (as you can see from the pic above, I like mine to be almost like a playdoh consistency) use the lesser amount of coconut oil. I rolled it into a ball and put into container. You can use any resealable container that you have on hand. If you want it to have more of a creamy consistency, use a bit more coconut oil.

~ 1/4 cups is equal to approximately 35 g. This means, you could get the 100 g each of the baking soda and arrowroot, and this would be more than enough.

~ *You don't have to add any scent if you don't want to. If you do, there's lots of choices, but there are some I would stay away from. Cinnamon Leaf EO, or Clove Bud EO for example, might be a bit too harsh. If you like an earthy scent, Patchouli would be interesting too! These are by no means your only choices, but it's a start. Not a bad idea to add your EO drop by drop, having a sniff after each to get it just right.

~ If you have more sensitive skin, you may need to play with the ratios a bit. Perhaps try a bit less baking soda (which means less salt), and maybe up the arrowroot powder. Keep in mind that it's the baking soda that's offering the 'deodorant' properties here, so while you could substitute the baking soda entirely for perhaps a kaolin clay, you might not get quite the same results. Also, you can eliminate any added scent too. The great thing about making your own products, is that you can adjust it as you need to, making a very personalized product for everyone in your family!

~ Remember this is a deodorant product, not an anti-perspirant. Anti-perspirant blocks your pores, while this allows your body to do as it needs to, but not in a shtinky way. It's a much healthier way to be!

Equipment
- Medium Sized Microwave Safe Glass Measure Cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Mixing Sticks (or you could just use a spoon)
- Soap Cutter or Knife (does not have to be sharp)
- Spray Bottle of Rubbing Alcohol (for spritzing to break surface bubbles.. you can usually find these at the dollar store. Go for the highest percentage of alcohol available)
- Microwave

Let's get started!

1. Cut the 1 lb of White M&P soap base in half. Set one half aside and cut the other half into small triangle bits (about 1/2 to 1" in size.. feel free to vary sizes but stay close to these approximates). These will be your apple pieces. Put aside for now.

2. Cut 1 lb of Clear M&P soap into chunks or cubes (chunks make for a quick, even melt), and heat in microwave until melted. Start with 1 minute, check and stir, and heat and stir thereafter at 20 second intervals. You want it completely melted but not too hot. It takes about 2-2.5 minutes, depending on your microwave.

3. Add 15 mL (.5 oz) of Apple Pie Fragrance Oil to your melted clear base. Stir. Add a few shavings of the colour cube (shave off bits with knife or peeler). You don't need much but you can add as much as you like to achieve desired colour. Stir well. Pour this base into your soap mold now. Give the surface a spritz of alcohol.

4. Working quickly, spritz your apple pieces with the alcohol and begin arranging them into the melted soap base in the mold. Arrange them as you like and add as many as you like (be creative!). It's ok if some of the bits are sticking out of the base a bit as shown below. We'll be adding a second layer and that will cover them up. If you have not used all of your triangles (and you probably didn't), that's ok. You will add them to your white base when you're ready. Once you're done adding triangles, give the surface a spritz to pop any bubbles that may have formed.

5. Set the soap in the mold to cool and harden a bit (about a half an hour)

6. When your clear base is set, cut the other half of the white soap base into chunks (about .5-1" square) and add any left over triangle bits. Put in a medium sized microwave safe measuring cup and heat in microwave until melted. Heat initially for 1 minute, check and stir, and heat at 20 second intervals, checking and stirring until completely melted. This may take 1.5-2 minutes in total.

7. Add remaining 15 mL (.5 oz) Apple Pie Fragrance Oil. Stir. Add a few slivers of the colour cube until desired colour is achieved for the 'crust' portion of the pie. Stir. Add 3 Tbsp of Brown Sugar. Stir well. Pour over top of the hardened clear soap. Set aside to cool for about an hour or so. When the soap is cool and hard, unmold carefully. If the soap will not release from the mold don't force it. Put it in the freezer for about an hour and it should pop out easily. Cut into 9 bars. Wrap each bar tightly in plastic (cling) wrap.

Variations to this recipe:
There are too many too list!! But for now..

- If you prefer more of a matte look to the apple 'sauce' in the pie instead of sparkly mica, try some Brown Oxide mixed with a bit of Glycerin to produce a matte colour.
- You can certainly use less Fragrance Oil in the recipe if you prefer a softer scent.
- Try different shapes in the pie.
- The Brown Sugar in this recipe gives the 'crust' side exfoliating qualities. You could also try ground oatmeal, soy scrub, or salts.
- Use different colours that match a different scent that you may be interested in.

Tip: If you have trouble cutting though the bars, heat your soap cutter under hot water. Dry the cutter and cut with ease.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

I would officially like to welcome you to
the world of Candora Soap and Soap Making Supplies! Home base for us is in
Ontario Canada, and we currently only sell our products within Canada. If you
haven’t had the chance to explore the website to see what we offer, please do.
You’ll find it at www.candorasoap.ca.
Not only can you find lots of finished, natural handcrafted products but for
those crafty ones among you, you will be delighted to find that we also carry a
full line of top quality butters, vegetable oils, essential oils, fragrance
oils, waxes, colours, botanicals and the list goes on. We offer everything at
wholesale pricing to save you money! Our product line selection will always be
growing, so check the website often for all of our newest additions. With
Candora Soap (as always) quality comes first.If an ingredient won’t make it into my soap because it doesn’t meet my
high standards, then it’s certainly not good enough to make it into yours.

From now until the end of September, we
will be including a FREE 30 mL bottle of Apple Pie Fragrance Oil with your
online purchase of $50 or more (before taxes and we reserve the right to
substitute should quantities run out). That’s the maximum amount you would use
to scent 2 lb of Melt and Pour soap! If you prefer a lighter scent, you could
certainly use less. I’m confident you’ll love Apple Pie Fragrance Oil as it
really is a perfect fall scent that entices with cinnamon, nutmeg and freshly
baked apples. As with all of the fragrance oils we carry, Apple Pie Fragrance
Oil is body safe and phthalate free.

In the coming weeks, my hope is to offer lots of
ideas, tips and recipes that you can try at home or perhaps apply in some way
to your product line. You are always encouraged to participate should you wish
with any ideas or tips that you would like to share.Happy Soaping!Donna